Chapter One: The Final Mission (Part 1)
The rain fell like whispers across the glass tower, each drop echoing in the silence before death.
Mira stood by the window, her reflection a ghost of a girl she no longer recognized. Black tactical suit hugging her frame, a silver dagger strapped to her thigh, and beneath the surface—eyes that had seen too much blood to still believe in innocence.
Raven. That was the name they gave her in the underground. The assassin who never missed.
But tonight, she wasn't just Raven.
Tonight, she was Mira — the woman who dared to dream of freedom.
Her earpiece crackled.
> "Target approaching. West corridor. Two minutes."
It was Tariq's voice — calm, low, the one thing that had ever softened her.
She pressed the mic near her lips. "Copy."
She could almost see his smile through the comms. The smile that once made her forget she was raised to kill. The one that promised a future beyond shadows.
Tonight was supposed to be their last job — one more contract, and they'd vanish together. Tariq had said so himself. A new life, somewhere far, maybe on a beach where no one knew the word "assassin."
Mira closed her eyes and let herself believe it — just for a heartbeat.
The hallway lights dimmed. Footsteps echoed. She slipped into the shadows, body melting into silence. Her breathing slowed, heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of rain.
The target stepped into view — a man in a gray suit, flanked by guards. Easy. Predictable.
She drew her blade. One move, one strike. That was all she needed.
But then—
A click behind her.
The cold, unmistakable sound of a gun's safety switching off.
Her muscles froze.
> "Mira," Tariq's voice whispered, closer now. "Drop the knife."
The air thickened around her. Slowly, she turned.
He was there — her Tariq, standing in the dark, gun aimed at her heart. His eyes, once warm with devotion, were hard now. Distant.
"Tariq," she breathed. "What are you doing?"
His jaw tightened. "Orders changed."
Her fingers trembled around the dagger. "Orders? We don't take orders anymore. We're done, remember?"
He hesitated, just a flicker, and she saw it — the war in his eyes. But then he stepped closer, shadows cutting across his face.
"They found out," he said, voice low. "They know we planned to run. If I don't finish this… they'll kill us both."
A tear slipped from her eye before she could stop it. "You could've told me. We could've fought—together."
He shook his head, sorrow ghosting his features. "You don't understand. They offered me a deal. My freedom… for yours."
For a moment, the world stopped.
Rain drummed harder against the glass. Lightning flashed.
> "You're going to kill me?" she whispered.
He looked away, as if the sight of her would break him.
"I'm sorry, Mira. You were never supposed to survive this life."
Her chest tightened, memories flooding—
The night he first kissed her under neon lights.
The way he used to brush her hair from her face after every mission.
The promise he made— "One day, we'll be free."
She smiled bitterly. "Guess freedom comes with a bullet."
Her hand slipped to her dagger.
If this was the end, she wouldn't die begging.
Lightning flashed again — white, merciless.
They moved at the same time.
Her dagger arced, his gun fired.
Pain bloomed in her chest like fire. The blade fell from her grasp, clattering to the floor.
Tariq caught her before she hit the ground, his hands trembling.
"Mira—" his voice cracked, breaking apart with guilt. "I didn't—"
Blood stained his gloves.
She looked up at him, eyes wide, lips trembling. "You could've just run with me."
He said nothing. Only rain, only silence.
The edges of her vision blurred.
Her heartbeat slowed, echoing in her ears like fading thunder.
As darkness crept in, she thought she heard a voice — not his, but something older, deeper, from a place beyond time.
> "Your soul is bound to fate, Raven. You shall rise again… where swords sing and stars remember."
Mira's lips parted, trying to speak. But only a sigh escaped.
Her last tear fell against his hand.
And the world dissolved into light.